This is the conclusion of the research that PNAs published last June 3rd, based on DNA Single Nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis of 37 populations from North Africa and Southern Europe.

The study has been a joint effort between Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) and Stanford University researchers, and has been coordinated by the group of "Population Genetics" directed by David Comas. Other IBE authors are Laura Rodríguez Botigué and Jaume Bertranpetit.

According to the authors, the findings, which have implications for the accurate estimation of genetic disease risk in certain European populations, suggest that southern Europeans might share ancestry with Africans to a far greater extent than previously reported.